The field of the present invention relates to wireless telecommunications. In particular, apparatus, systems, and methods are described herein for providing distributed wireless online access, along with business methods for deploying such a system.
With the recent explosive growth of the Internet and accompanying demand for high-speed online access, the so-called xe2x80x9clast-mile problemxe2x80x9d has assumed great importance in the telecommunications industry. The xe2x80x9clast-milexe2x80x9d problem refers to the technical and economic difficulties associated with bringing high-speed online access and/or data transmission to each and every business, residence, and other location. High-speed data transmission is already provided on the Internet backbone, and many large entities (corporations, telecommunications companies, universities, research institutions, computing facilities, online service providers, electronic commerce providers, and so on) have direct connections or links to the Internet backbone, thereby enjoying data transmission rates of up to 100 Mb/s. Most residences and smaller businesses rely on direct connections using modems and standard telephone lines for online access, typically at maximum data transmission rates of 56 kb/s. There has been some headway made in providing more widely deployed and higher speed online access, mainly through television cable systems and digital subscriber lines (DSL""s) provided by phone companies, but high-speed online access is still quite limited, and may never be deployed in some areas. The potential infrastructure development required to widely deploy high-speed online access may prove to be enormous, and may be particularly problematic in established neighborhoods.
Wireless communications technology may provide alternative solutions to the xe2x80x9clast mile problemxe2x80x9d. Relatively low-cost devices are available for wirelessly linking devices, and if these were widely deployed a wireless network could be formed breaching the gap between the Internet backbone and a multitude of individual local users. This could be accomplished without significant infrastructure development or disruption of existing systems or structures. Wireless network connections also offer the possibility of mobile connections to the network, or even the network itself being mobile.
It is therefore desirable to provide apparatus and methods for widely deploying/providing high-speed wireless online access that does not entail substantial infrastructure development and/or investment. It is therefore desirable to provide apparatus and methods for widely deploying/providing high-speed wireless online access that may be readily implemented in existing neighborhoods without substantial disruption of existing structures, facilities, and/or services. It is therefore desirable to provide apparatus and methods for widely deploying/providing high-speed wireless online access that may be readily expanded into un-served geographic areas. It is therefore desirable to provide apparatus and methods for deploying/providing high-speed wireless online access that is affordable for users and that may generate substantial revenue streams with minimal initial investment. It is therefore desirable to provide apparatus and methods for deploying/providing high-speed wireless online access having mobile network elements and/or links, thereby enabling implementation of a mobile network.
Certain aspects of the present invention may overcome one or more aforementioned drawbacks of the previous art and/or advance the state-of-the-art of wireless online access systems and methods, and in addition may meet one or more of the following objects:
To provide distributed wireless online access system and methods for providing widely-deployed high-speed online access;
To provide distributed wireless online access system and methods for providing widely-deployed high-speed Internet access;
To provide distributed wireless online access system and methods for providing widely-deployed high-speed wireless communications;
To provide distributed wireless online access system and methods for providing widely-deployed high-speed wireless online access;
To provide distributed wireless online access system and methods for providing widely-deployed high-speed wireless Internet access;
To provide distributed wireless online access system and methods wherein a plurality of primary wireless units form a primary wireless network;
To provide distributed wireless online access system and methods wherein a plurality of secondary wireless units are wirelessly linked to the primary wireless network via one or more of the primary wireless units;
To provide distributed wireless online access system and methods wherein one or more of the wireless units may be linked to an external communications system (such as the Internet), thereby enabling connection of the primary wireless network to the external communications system;
To provide distributed wireless online access system and methods wherein one or more of the wireless units may be directly linked (i.e., wired) to an external communications system (such as the Internet), thereby enabling connection of the primary wireless network to the external communications system;
To provide distributed wireless online access system and methods wherein the wireless units comprising the system may include unlicensed wireless transmitters;
To provide distributed wireless online access system and methods wherein data packets may be transmitted from one wireless unit of the wireless network to another wireless unit thereof via multiple network paths through the wireless network;
To provide distributed wireless online access system and methods wherein data packet transmission through the wireless network may be routed and/or re-routed based on the status of the wireless network, the status of wireless units thereof, and the speed of data packet transmission therethrough;
To provide distributed wireless online access system and methods wherein patterns of geographic coverage and/or data packet transmission may be used to determine placement of additional primary wireless units for expanding the primary wireless network;
To provide distributed wireless online access system and methods wherein online access subscribers having primary or secondary wireless units may be charged an access fee amount for access to and/or use of the primary wireless network;
To provide distributed wireless online access system and methods wherein the access fee amount for primary and/or secondary users may be calculated based on volume of received and/or transmitted data packets;
To provide distributed wireless online access system and methods wherein access provider revenue may be paid to a primary subscriber based on the volume of received and re-transmitted data packets routed through the respective primary wireless unit;
To provide distributed wireless online access system and methods wherein access provider revenue may be paid to primary subscribers based on the number of secondary wireless units linked to the respective primary wireless unit;
To provide distributed wireless online access system and methods wherein access provider revenue may be paid to primary subscribers based on the number of other subscribers recruited by the primary subscriber;
To provide distributed wireless online access system and methods wherein some of the wireless units may be mobile;
To provide distributed wireless online access system and methods wherein some of the wireless units may be mounted on motor vehicles; and
To provide distributed wireless online access system and methods wherein multiple wireless units mounted on multiple motor vehicle traveling on a portion of a length of roadway may form a transient wireless communications network.
One or more of the foregoing objects may be achieved in the present invention by a distributed wireless online access system comprising a plurality of primary wireless units forming primary wireless communications network, and a plurality of secondary wireless units. Each primary wireless unit may comprise a wireless transmitter, a wireless receiver, and a programmed processor for routing data packets received by the primary wireless unit for re-transmission to another primary wireless unit or to a secondary wireless unit. Each secondary wireless unit may comprise a wireless transmitter, a wireless receiver, and a programmed processor for processing received data packets and for generating transmitted data packets. A portal unit may provide a connection or link between the primary wireless network and an external communications system (such as the Internet), thereby providing access to the external communications network to all primary and secondary wireless units. Data packets may be generated by an originating secondary wireless unit, transmitted to a primary wireless unit, routed and re-transmitted through a succession of other primary wireless units, and ultimately received by a destination unit (either a destination secondary wireless unit or a portal unit/external communications system). A data packet may follow one of several alternative network paths through the primary network connecting the originating point and the destination point, thereby enabling the system to route data packets around unavailable primary units, slower portions of the primary network, and so on.
A preferred embodiment for a primary or a secondary receiver is a personal computer (desktop or portable) connected to a wireless transmitter and a wireless receiver. The transmitter and receiver may comprise separate units, or may be incorporated into a single unit, which may in turn be incorporated into the computer or may comprise a separate unit(s) connected thereto. It should be noted that a given computer/transmitter/receiver combination may function as both a primary wireless unit and as a secondary wireless unit. The primary and secondary wireless units may operate as licensed or as unlicensed wireless devices under any applicable government regulations in force at the location of the unit, or the plurality of primary and secondary units may be a combination of licensed and unlicensed wireless units. Unlicensed wireless transmitters/receivers currently available commercially are relatively inexpensive and typically operate at about 4 to 6 megabits/second (Mb/s) up to about 11 Mb/s, about two orders of magnitude faster than typically modem/phone line computer network access (currently 56 kb/s or less).
This combination of relatively inexpensive hardware, high-speed data transmission, and lack of licensing requirements together enable potentially powerful business methods for deploying, maintaining, and expanding a commercial high-speed communications system for a group of subscribers, and generating revenue therefrom for a wireless online access provider. Briefly, the online access provider establishes a portal unit with a link (typically a high-speed wired link) to the Internet (or other external communications system) and deploys primary wireless units at the geographic locations (businesses, residences, or other locations) of a group of primary subscribers. The primary wireless units are preferably deployed in a sufficiently dense pattern over a given geographic area that all primary wireless units are within transmission range of at least one other primary unit, preferably more than one. At least one unit must be within transmission range of the portal unit, thereby enabling data packet transmission between the Internet and any primary wireless unit of the primary wireless network. Primary subscribers may be specifically recruited based on geographic location, or may be self-selected. The wireless transmitters, wireless receivers, and/or computers for the primary wireless units may be purchased by the subscriber, supplied by the provider (for a fee or free of charge), or some combination thereof. A subscriber-supplied computer and provider-supplied wireless transmitter/receiver might be a common scenario. A primary subscriber may be charged an access fee to participate in the primary wireless network and receive high-speed access to the Internet through the primary wireless network, with his/her primary wireless unit (i.e., computer/transmitter/receiver) also functioning as a secondary wireless unit.
Secondary wireless units of the system may be regarded as xe2x80x9cclientsxe2x80x9d connected to the primary wireless network for providing user access to the primary wireless network and the Internet (through the portal unit). Secondary subscribers may be solicited by the provider, and charged an access fee for the high-speed Internet access provided by the wireless linkage of their secondary wireless units to the primary wireless network. The secondary wireless unit may be user-supplied, provider-supplied, or a combination (as described above). A secondary wireless unit may be deployed in any location (business, residence, or other) within transmission range of at least one primary wireless unit.
Expansion of the system may be driven by financial incentives to the subscribers. A primary subscriber may receive rebates, access fee reductions, and/or payments based on the number of secondary wireless units within transmission range of his/her primary wireless unit, or alternatively based on the volume of in-transit data packets received and re-transmitted (i.e., amount of data traffic handled) by his/her primary wireless unit. Incentives may therefore be provided for driving self-organized/self-assembled expansion of the distributed high-speed wireless network, particularly at the edges of areas covered by the primary wireless network. As new primary subscribers are recruited (or secondary subscribers decide to finance their high-speed Internet access by becoming a primary subscriber), the area covered by the wireless network may expand and/or becomes more redundantly covered (enhancing reliability).
One or more of the wireless units may be mobile wireless units. A mobile secondary wireless unit essentially allows a secondary subscriber to xe2x80x9croamxe2x80x9d among the individual wireless coverage areas of multiple primary units while maintaining a link to the primary wireless network. One or more mobile primary units may enable formation of a transient, mobile primary wireless network having a dynamically varying network topology and coverage area. Installing primary units on sufficiently large fraction of the vehicles on a portion of a roadway may effectively transform an interstate highway into a long-haul, high-speed online access xe2x80x9cbackbonexe2x80x9d for transmitting data packets over long distances, or effectively transform congested commuter routes into a metro-scale high-speed online access system serving a city and its surrounding suburbs.